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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27975416">Box of Secrets (Lock and Key)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neva_Borne/pseuds/Neva_Borne'>Neva_Borne</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Zutara Drabble December [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cute, Drabble, F/M, Fluff, Secrets, ZK Drabble December 2020, Zutara, lock and key, necklace, proposal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:15:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>473</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27975416</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neva_Borne/pseuds/Neva_Borne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a locked box on the nightstand, but sometimes things are better when they're kept secret.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Zutara Drabble December [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035657</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>ZK Drabble December 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Box of Secrets (Lock and Key)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>    There’s a box on Zuko’s nightstand that she can’t help but wonder about. It’s always been there, but up until a few weeks ago, it was open. Now it’s closed and somehow she just knows that it’s locked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She found the key in Zuko’s robes once, but she didn’t use it. She is curious, but not curious enough to invade his privacy. Even so, she is dying to ask about it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Iroh,” she says one day, blowing gently on her steaming cup of ginseng tea as she and Zuko’s uncle share one of their frequent lunches together while Zuko is busy with meetings that she isn’t needed for. “Do you know about the locked box on Zuko’s nightstand?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Iroh’s amber eyes glitter at her over his own cup of tea. “Have you looked inside it?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No!” Katara says quickly, frowning. “I haven’t. I can’t. I just wondered if you knew what was inside it.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He smiles at her and shakes his head. “I’m sure I do, Katara, but I am not about to betray my nephew’s confidence and reveal what it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“But-”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Don’t worry about it,” Iroh laughs. “You trust Zuko, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Of course.” Katara nods.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Then trust that he will tell you what’s in the box when he is ready.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Katara sighs and sips at her tea.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>As weeks go by, Katara stops worrying about the box and eventually forgets its existence, for the most part. She is too busy aiding Zuko in rebuilding ties with the Water Tribes and working with the education minister on reforming the school system to rid the country of the propaganda from the last century.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>When she is summoned to the gardens on a beautiful, blue-sky day, she isn’t expecting Zuko to be holding a bouquet of flowers. Lilies, to be more specific. A mixture of fire and water lilies to be exact. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She isn’t expecting him to tell her, blatantly and with many cheesy, overly romantic lines, how much he loves her. And she certainly doesn’t expect to cry as he does because how is this the same boy who, not so long ago, was chasing them across the world. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>So, when he tells her to close her eyes, and she hears some minor shuffling, she is expecting </span>
  <em>
    <span>something. </span>
  </em>
  <span>When she opens her eyes, sees the beautiful blue and gold necklace on a chain that hangs low enough to be worn over even the most stuffy of Fire Nation style robes, she throws her arms around Zuko and says yes before he can even ask.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>When she next sees the box on Zuko’s nightstand, it’s open once more, and she smiles as she touches the necklace at her collarbone and crawls into bed.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Zuko’s warm, strong arms wrap around her as he buries his face in her neck, and she drifts off to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
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